Original subtitles

Look at that arachnid.

Australia is famously known for its iconic mix of unique animal

species, many of which cannot be found

anywhere else in the world.

Some of them, like the kangaroo, are incredibly plentiful,

and it's not uncommon in the least

to see them quickly hopping across the Outback.

When it comes to recognizable reptiles,

when you think Australia, you definitely

think about crocodiles.

However, to my surprise, they were actually

rarer than you may think.

As both the freshwater and saltwater

varieties inhabit mainly the northern territory.

But what about the animals that aren't considered icons,

the ones who are seldom seen due to their elusive nature,

and who, in many cases, are also considered

to be nature's oddities?

Today, we are back at the Billabong Sanctuary,

located in Nome, a small town just south of Townsville

in North Queensland.

Proudly listed as one of Australia's top ecotourism

attractions, this family-owned-and-operated

establishment is home to over 50 native species,

including what I consider to be the continent's undisputed

champion when it comes to the title of most bizarre.

So if you are ready, let's see if we can

get up close with the echidna.

All right, come on, guys.

Now, the keepers have left the door slightly ajar.

Let's go inside be extra quiet and see if we can find it.

Oh, it's right here!

Come in, come in, come in.

You have to be careful where you step

when you're in this enclosure because look at that.

Almost like a biological landmine.

You may think that this is some sort of cacti,

but that is in fact an echidna.

That's an animal?

That's an animal.

And it is buried down in the dirt.

If you guys want to see it, I've got to dig it up.

And that's about it.

Kind of looks like a sea urchin, right?

That's it? - That's it!

So it's just a ball of spikes?

A ball of spikes.

It looks like porcupine quills.

And it's not something you want to come in and sit

down and have a picnic on.

So I'm just going to sit right here next to it.

Oh!

Now it's really starting to move.

Hey, buddy!

How you doing in there?

Now actually, it's a lot bigger than that.

It is buried down in the dirt.

And what we're seeing right here is

an incredible defensive pose.

This creature is incredibly speedy

when it comes to digging.

And all it needs to do is sense something

dangerous in its environment, like a dingo,

and they will immediately use their claws

and their powerful legs to dig down

into a little burrow like that and erect

these spines up in the air.

And it's very tough to eat something that is covered

in spines like that, but--

Will those come off into your fingers?

No.

Its quills do not release from its body

like that of a porcupine.

In fact, they're not related to porcupines at all.

And I know you guys really want to see this creature.

And to do that, I'm going to have to dig it up.

And no gloves.

I'm going to try to do this without gloves,

without getting spiked.

Now, these spikes are non-venomous,

but if I'm spiked by them, it is going to cause some irritation

and it's going to be very itchy. Are they sharp?

They're razor sharp.

Here, bring your hand in here and just kind

of prop down on top there.

It's like a pin cushion, right?

Ah! - Yeah.

Ooh, and every time you touch it, it moves.

And even that, imagine if you were a dingo

and you come into the environment to sniff this,

even that little movement can give you

a good poke right in the nose.

Yeah, you could feel they kind of lay down

and when it budges, they get, like, really stiff.

Yeah, they can lay flat and then

they can also be erect like that to protect

the creature when it's buried down underneath soft soil.

You sure you want to do this?

Well, yeah.

You guys want to see it up close, right?

Sure.

I want to see it, but only if you're willing.

Oh, yeah.

Well, let me see.

My tactic here is going to be to try to get to its underside.

Now, their bellies are much softer than the top side.

So if I can get my hands sort of underneath it,

I can pull it out.

And what it's going to do is curl up into a ball.

Here we go.

Oh!

I got it, I got it.

Oh, here comes the face.

Is that its head right there?

Nope!

That's the rump end.

Oh, wow.

He's incredibly relatively strong.

Here we go.

I got you, I got you.

Got it!

There it is!

That's an echidna right there.

Oh, oh, oh! Super spiky.

Can you see its face on that side?

Yeah.

There's a little face right there!

I'm gonna sit down here.

I'm going to plop it on my lap.

This is a dangerous little maneuver.

But I want to hold it like this.

Wow.

Look at the spikes sticking out.

It looks just like a sea urchin.

Hold on.

I got to get it by the belly.

Ow, ow, ow, ow!

Actually, you know what, Coyote?

Yeah?

You know what that animal reminds me of?

What's that?

That video game we used to play.

My favorite video game? Yeah.

"Sonic the Hedgehog."

And actually, what's really cool about the echidna

is that the echidna was a character

in the "Sonic" series.

If you guys remember Knuckles, the red one,

he had those boxing gloves.

He was actually an echidna based off of this animal.

And look at that cute little face.

You see that elongated nose?

That is specialized for catching insects.

Now, they're insectivores, which means

they primarily feed on bugs.

And they specialize in eating ants and termites.

And similar to an anteater, they don't have teeth.

But they have a long sticky tongue.

They use that tongue to kind of feel around

inside of old rotting logs underneath rocks

and around in termite and ant nests.

And what they will do is just kind of suck

those creatures up into their mouths

and grind them up against the roof of their mouth

and then they have a meal.

Hi, bud!

Oh, you're so cute and dirty.

Look at that little foot.

Look at those paw pads.

And they feel just like latex.

And look at that big claw up front.

It's like a shovel.

It's interesting how the front legs look

very similar to the back legs.

Because these are the little back legs here.

See how stout they are?

Little chubby feet.

Yeah, and the little pads feel like latex.

And the front feet, you actually can't

see the front feet really well, but they kind of

look like the foot of a mole.

It's interesting.

This animal is like the combination

of so many different creatures.

And I find that that seems to be the case

with many of the animals here in Australia.

They're like this weird mix of all these different creatures

that we're used to seeing in the United States.

What does the echidna smell like?

Oh, I'm not sure I want to get my--

ooh, musky.

A little musky.

I don't know if they secrete any sort of musk

or if that's just from the dirt that it's

been burying around in.

Do they shed their quills?

Yes, they can shed

their quills just like hair.

And they do actually have hair.

Little coarse bristle hairs in between all of these spines.

And their skin is incredibly leathery.

Now, other than the platypus, this is

the only mammal that lays eggs.

And the female will actually carry the egg inside of her

for several months.

And then when she lays it, it takes

about 10 days for it to hatch.

So bizarre, a mammal that lays eggs.

And how many eggs do they lay at once?

Just a single egg.

That's it.

One egg is all this animal will lay.

Let me see if I kind of set it down for a second

if it'll start to walk.

Here we go. Watch this.

You guys want to see it dig into the ground?

Sure.

Watch how fast it's able to burrow down.

Watch this.

Any sort of disturbance in the environment, look at that,

they actually push the dirt out to the sides.

And those stout little legs and claws allow them to do that.

So they don't necessarily dig down

forward to protect themselves.

They dig straight down so that then they can create

that pin cushion defense pose.

And they have incredible camouflage too.

I mean, any sort of environment that's

made of sticks and leaves and dirt,

and this thing is going to blend in perfectly.

Oh, look at that.

It's already buried back down.

All right, let me see if I can get him back up here.

I'm surprised you put it back down after it

took you so long to dig it up.

Yeah, I didn't really think about that.

OK, they're so-- like, this is me trying to lift the echidna

out from under the ground.

And it is locked in place.

Now, you can imagine if it nestled itself up against a log

or in between some rocks, it would

be absolutely impossible for a predator to dislodge it.

All right, let's see if we can bring the echidna

back up from under the dirt.

Come here, buddy.

Oh, it is so strong.

Dangerous game of Operation there.

Whoa!

There's his face!

Get that dirt off.

There's a little nose!

Hi, bud.

Whoa.

Pretty cool, huh?

That's really cool.

You want to pet it's back?

I kind of want to try to hold it.

You want to try to hold it?

You think it's OK?

Uh, yeah.

You just got to get it from underneath here.

Here, go ahead and set down your camera real quick.

All right.

Just be really, really gentle.

I was told if I keep my hands flat.

Yeah.

Actually, if you put your hands flat,

I can kind of lay it on you like that and then

kind of feel for the belly.

There you go, there you go, there you go.

- It's got me. - Got it?

It's spiky, right?

Oh, it's super spiky.

I got you.

I got you, buddy. Hi.

- Pretty cool, huh? - Hi.

That's pretty cool.

Now, what most people probably don't know

is that Knuckles was your favorite "Sonic

the Hedgehog" character, right?

He was.

The underside is really soft and fur coated.

Yeah.

You would never think that by looking at the top.

Well, you can have a really soft underbelly, I guess,

if you have back hair and spines like this guy.

Ah, it's got me.

on my knee.

He's got me. Hold on.

Got it?

Yeah, I got him.

- They have a strong grip. - Yeah, they really do.

Quite the handshake.

Those little stubby feet really can grab on to you.

- It's really warmed up. - Yeah.

At this point, I feel like we're pretty comfortable together.

I'm not getting spined too bad.

We're just hanging out.

You know, I found out what that echidna's name is.

You want to know?

- Yeah, what's his name? - Spike.

Spike.

That's a good original name for an echidna like this.

Well, this was pretty cool.

Getting up close with one of the only monotremes

that's here in Australia, the echidna.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, let's set him back down into the dirt,

and he's going to disappear.

You ready?

And here he goes.

Oh, [inaudible]!

Echidnas truly rank as being one of the planet's

most uniquely bizarre animals.

And while their spike-covered bodies may give them

an outwardly aggressive looking appearance,

these ambling little monotremes are as kindhearted as it gets.

If you ever encounter one of these egg-laying mammals

in the wild, do not attempt to pick it up.

Trust me when I say you will regret those spines.

However, if you simply admire it from a respectful distance,

I promise that an encounter with an echidna

is something you will never forget.

Upon arriving in Australia, I had my sights

set on getting up close with some of the country's most

iconic mammalian inhabitants.

However, approaching mammals in the wild

is incredibly difficult, as most species are very

weary of human interaction, so encounters tend to be nothing

more than a fleeting glimpse.

The best solution for getting an up close and personal

interaction is to work at a wildlife park

where native animals are being rehabilitated or raised

under the care of humans.

So we reached out to the Billabong Sanctuary,

an establishment that has been providing the public

with a hands-on approach to learning about native species

for over 35 years.

Located just outside of Townsville,

they're considered one of Queensland's

premiere ecotourism attractions.

And their grounds are home to various Australian icons,

including kangaroos, wombats, dingoes, and, of course,

the one and only koala.

So if you're in the mood for an extreme dose

of cute and cuddly, then this is definitely the episode for you.

Coyote, what do you have there?

Well, it's about 8 o'clock in the morning,

and it is breakfast time.

And today, I'm having breakfast with a koala.

So I'm bring this eucalyptus into its enclosure

and see if we can get it to eat.

You guys ready? Let's do it.

Here we go.

Now, you can't eat this, can you?

No, it's toxic for me, but it is perfect for Banjo.

Hi, buddy! How are you?

Who's Banjo?

This is Banjo the koala.

He's a big koala too.

All right, let's do this.

You see this?

We've got a couple of water troughs

right here and on this side.

And what I'm going to do is place

these branches of eucalyptus inside these little water

troughs.

Smells just like a cough drop.

All right, looks like he's interested in these leaves.

Mark, why don't you come around this side?

Let me see.

Koalas are very specialized because they

only eat eucalyptus leaves.

And there are hundreds of species of eucalyptus trees.

And they're very selective about the leaves that they will eat.

Only a few varieties actually interest these animals.

There's breakfast.

It's right there.

Look, here's the good ones.

And they really only eat the tips.

Let's see.

Oh, you're sitting in the leaves.

You're sitting on your breakfast, Banjo.

Have a scratch. Koala scratch.

There you go.

All right, I'm going to take off my pack here.

OK, here we go.

Oh.

It's starting to snack.

Oh, it's the good stuff.

Look at that.

Wow.

Pretty good, huh?

How much eucalyptus can this koala eat, Coyote?

A lot.

Now, they're primarily nocturnal, so during the day,

they spend a lot of their time sleeping up in the trees.

But as soon as it gets cool and dark out,

they start to get active.

Now, early in the morning like this,

they will also eat and spend the majority of their day sleeping,

up to 18 hours a day sleeping.

And the rest of the time, they're

pretty much just feasting.

And they can eat about a kilogram

of leaves every single day.

And they like these younger tips of the leaves.

You see these?

The softer, juicier leaves.

And they absorb most of their moisture from the food

that they eat.

So it's their food and their water.

Food and water at the same time.

I mean, they're an arboreal species,

so primarily they're staying up in the treetops.

So they get down on the ground, they

stand the chance of running into potential predators

like dingoes.

Now, up in the trees, you maybe thinking to yourselves, well,

what could get up in a tree and eat something like a koala?

Obviously, a bird of prey like an eagle or a very large hawk,

but for the most part.

They stay pretty tucked down when they're sleeping,

say camouflaged up against the trunk of a tree,

they're going to be just fine.

Oh, can you see that?

Look, you can kind of see those front teeth there.

Similar to the teeth of a wombat.

Very rodent looking.

Now, they are related to wombats.

As we know, they are marsupials.

Now, most marsupials have pouches.

However, Banjo is a male.

The males do not have pouches.

But the females, when they have a baby, it's called a Joey.

And the Joey is tiny, only the size

of a jelly bean when it's born.

It has no fur, no ears, and it's completely blind.

Now, it will stay in the mother's pouch

for around five to six months.

Once it develops enough, then it will crawl out from the pouch

and just hang on to the mother's back and sort of stick with it

until it's big enough to head out on its own.

All right, Mark, check this out.

This is really cool.

Go ahead and zoom in right through these leaves.

Do you see that yellowish mark right there in the center

of that cream-colored chest?

Is that dirt?

No, that is actually the koala's scent gland.

It secretes a very strong musk.

And, Banjo, I'm just going to touch your little scent

gland there, if you don't mind.

Let me see.

Oh!

That is a very strong smell.

I read that koalas smell somewhere

between a real strong musk and eucalyptus.

So what I did want to do is I want to smell the koala.

Let me see here.

Oh!

Yeah, very strong smell.

I would say somewhere between a muddy, grimy, wet dog

and a really old cough drop.

And, here, smell the tip of my finger.

[retches] Ugh!

Yeah, that is some strong musk.

But to a female koala, that must smell excellent.

Well, it looks like Banjo has had a fair share

of eucalyptus leaves.

I think you guys all want me to get a more up close look,

right?

You're going to hold a koala?

I'm going to hold a koala. Here we go.

All right.

Now, what I need to do--

hey, Banjo. Let's see.

So I'm going to get in real close,

and he's going to just kind of put his hand up there.

I want to support his backside.

Just go like that.

There we go, buddy.

Hop on down.

Whoa!

There we go.

Just like cradling a baby, only much softer.

Koala.

Hi, Banjo.

That's what we call the koala cuddle right there.

Wow.

So dense!

Oh my gosh, the fur is incredible.

You don't really realize it until it's

actually on you, but-- Oh, wow.

It's almost like a lamb. - I know, right?

Like a lamb's wool.

Koala's wool.

Very, very dense.

And a lot of animals you think about having

these coarse outer guard hairs, and he's

just dense and brillowy all throughout.

Oh my gosh, you are just so cute.

I'm trying to talk rather quiet next to his ears.

Look at the ears.

It kind of reminds me of Gizmo from "Gremlins"

with those big ears.

And they do have excellent hearing.

Look how they can kind of individually

move each one of those ears too.

Oh my gosh, you are so cute.

Very calm.

I think it's really neat how they

have those vertical pupils too.

Go ahead and zoom in on the eyes there.

So calm.

So kind.

It's a koala hug.

Oh.

I can-- oh, I can smell his scent gland.

And it's kind of pressed up against my chest

there, so I think I'm probably going to smell like a koala

for the rest of the day, which would

attract in some female koalas.

But when it comes to everybody else being around me,

sorry, guys.

I may have to ride in the back of the truck on the way home.

Ugh.

Oh my gosh, look at that big nose.

He looks like he's going to sleep.

Well, he did have that big breakfast of eucalyptus leaves.

Is it almost nap time?

What do you think?

Let's turn you like this.

Can you see how his claws are just hooked on to my shoulder

there?

Oh yeah.

Those are some serious claws, right?

Can you feel those claws?

Yeah, I can feel him holding on to me.

I mean, they aren't like piercing through my shirt

or anything like that.

But I am just trying to make calm movements.

I don't want to startle him in any way whatsoever.

He seems just very content to hang out on me.

That's good.

Wow.

All right, well, I think Banjo is pretty comfortable with me

at this point, so let's Crouch down and get into a slightly

more comfortable position.

There we go.

Oh, what a big cuddler.

I think we can all agree that the koala is arguably

the most adorable animal that we've

seen so far here in Australia.

But a lot of times, people often think

that these are bears because of the term "koala bear."

But the koala bear in fact is not related to bears at all.

And as we know, it is a marsupial, which means,

of course, that they have a pouch.

Now, notice how quiet Banjo is, right?

And you're thinking to yourself, well,

koala is like the most stealthy, silent creature

you've ever held on to, Coyote.

But believe it or not, koalas are

capable of making some incredible sounds, especially

the males.

They can do this large guttural bellow.

This sort of--

It sounds kind of like a howler monkey,

if I were to compare it to something.

And that's sort of a territorial dominance thing.

It also can draw in the females, basically saying,

I am the king of this eucalyptus tree.

Has Banjo gone to sleep?

No, he's still awake.

Oh, on this side, I mean, he's got one eye closed.

He's taking a little koala cat nap.

Banjo wasn't very impressed by your koala call.

No, I guess my bellow wasn't quite enough.

Turn you this way.

Here you go.

You guys want to know a fact that's pretty interesting

but also kind of gross?

I have a feeling you're going to tell us anyway.

I am going to tell you.

I don't know if you guys want to hear this one,

but we know that adult koalas eat eucalyptus leaves.

And the microorganisms in their digestive track

help break down those leaves and allow

them to deal with the toxins.

However, the babies are not capable of eating leaves yet,

so what they have to do is eat their mother's poop.

Oh! Why is that?

And the reason they do that is that the bacteria that's

transferred from the poop into the babies helps

coat the inside of their digestive tracts

so they are then capable of eating those leaves

and breaking them down.

How would you like that, to start out

by eating your mom's poop before you actually

got a full nourishing meal?

Pretty gross, right?

Oh!

All right, guys, I don't think you

can visit Australia without getting the chance to see

one of these iconic animals.

And getting the chance to hold one is absolutely amazing.

Now, I feel bad because I've been snuggling

Banjo this entire time.

You guys have been behind the cameras, kind

of saying to yourselves, oh my gosh, it's so adorable,

but you'd like to hold a koala.

I want to hold a koala.

Mario? - Absolutely.

You want to hold?

All right, Mario, how about you go first here?

OK.

I'm just going to transfer him [inaudible]...

Whoa!

Now you're going to smell like a koala.

Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh, I do.

I smell like a koala.

All right, I'm going to get out this camera so I can

get some shots of this here. - Wow.

Mario, you're doing it!

What do you think?

So my first thought is it's solid.

And it kind of feels like I'm holding a baby, you know.

You kind of just have to be, like, very gentle and slow

with your movements.

Oh!

Oh.

Watch your face.

He's got some sharp claws.

Maybe he likes your hat.

Yeah, he's like, give me that hat.

OK, here we go.

Oh, oh.

There you go, buddy.

Whoa!

Heavier than you think, right?

Oh my goodness.

Hi!

Hi.

How are you?

When I was a kid--

I'm sure you did too-- we ate those treats, Koala Yummies.

You remember those?

Oh yeah, I remember Koala Yummies.

And I remember when I was a kid thinking, like, I wonder

if I'll ever get to actually hold a real koala bear,

and this is that moment.

I smell like Cheez-Its, you know, like the cheddar snacks.

Really?

I think maybe it's his musk gland or something.

Yeah.

It's kind of a cheesy pungent smell, but totally worth it.

Totally worth it to get to hold a koala bear.

You can definitely feel those claws, guys.

Oh, that's what it was.

That was the Cheez-It smell.

You were the musk gland.

The musk gland.

Oh.

Well, I don't think anyone would argue

with me if I said that the koala was unquestionably

the most adorable animal that we have seen here in Australia.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, let's get Banjo back up into his roost.

The marsupials of Australia are some of the most

unique creatures on our planet.

And getting the chance to work alongside several of them,

including Blossom the brushtail possum, Wanda the wombat,

and Banjo the koala, really opened my eyes as to how

diverse our planet truly is.

If you ever have the chance to visit Australia and happen

to find yourself near Townsville,

definitely take a day to visit the Billabong Sanctuary, where

you can see all the fantastic residents

that we feature on the "Brave Wilderness" channel.